Thoughts About Art

     On the very first day of the only drawing class I took in high school, the teacher introduced herself by saying "There is good art, and there is bad art. My job is to teach you how to tell the difference". And I can't help but think back to her smug, arrogant approach to art every time the chip on my shoulder starts to act up.

     The fact that she knew, she just knew what made art good, or what made art bad, or what constituted art at all is the kind of shit that turned me off from the subject in the first place. To introduce herself from the top of her pretentious pedestal, and to brag so boldly that she is the all knowing authority of something as subjective as art, is beyond me. Who is she to say what is or is not art?

      Art- the thing that has escaped a definitive definition throughout it's existence. The thing that means something completely different to every single person on the entire planet. The thing that could potentially be done by anyone, anywhere, by using anything.

      As a general rule of thumb, I would consider just about anything art. If something is art to anyone, even if the creator disagrees, then it's art. If you can take something from it, then it's art. Even if you argue that you can't take anything away from whatever it is, I'd argue that you can "take away" the fact that you can't take away anything from it...making it art. I'm not talking about the perception of the viewer, or the vision of the artist, or any of the other bullshit concepts taught in drawing 101, either.

     All I'm saying is I was genuinely and instantly offended by how this teacher felt she should introduce herself. To assume superiority over a class of sixteen year old's on a cultural subject so broad just blew me away. It's so accessible that anyone can find their own way to participate; to take part in some small way. But it's also frustratingly inaccessible because everyone's personal view of what art is, or could be, or should be- varies dramatically. What you think of, or feel when you experience art (in the broadest possible sense) is personal, and absolutely unique to you. If you like what you are experiencing- good. If you don't- good; you don't always get exactly what you want anyways, just be glad you were there in the first place.

     The point is, you are free to like what you like, and dislike what you don't. Or to feel confused, or unsure; or any of the other infinite ways that art (in all of it's infinite forms) can make you feel. And for someone to assume so certainly, that they know better, is pretentious. To take something as universal yet intimate as art, and divide everything it encompasses into just two categories is...Well it's a dick move. To say that no matter how intensely something means to you; a song, a painting, a movie, a quote, a personality, a place, a memory- that it can be placed in just one of two of her categories; good or bad, is infuriating.

Like what you like, or don't. Or don't do anything at all. Every single thing you experience in life is up to you to interpret, not your fucking know-it-all (f)art teacher from high school.